»Manifest of Practice«: exhibition in Berlin of work by students and alumni of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar

From 17 January until 1 February 2019, the »Manifest of Practice« exhibition will showcase contemporary work from the Faculty of Art and Design at the Thuringian State Representation Office in Berlin. The exhibition will then travel to Taipei, Seoul, New York, La Paz, and Tehran, among other locations, and will be accompanied with workshops.

The Faculty of Art and Design at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar upholds the traditions of the historical Bauhaus. On the occasion of the school of design’s centenary, the »Manifest of Practice« will showcase a selection of objects, furniture, sculptures, textiles, prints, photographs, and films compiled specifically for the exhibition at the Thuringian State Representation Office in Berlin from 17 January 2019. Markus Weisbeck (Professor of Graphic Design at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar) initiated the presentation together with Wolfgang Sattler (Dean of the Faculty of Art and Design): »›Manifest of Practice‹ brings the Bauhaus into the present day and shows creative positions that explain themselves in their formal art.« The exhibition was funded by the Thuringian State Chancellery, the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, and the University’s Bauhaus100 Fund.

The exhibition was designed by graduate René Schwolow, who interpreted the graphic design concept of the Bauhaus 100 year in spatial architecture. This not only includes current design classics such as furniture and textiles by New Tendency, Teuber Kohlhoff, Anne Marx, and Mykilos, but also novel interpretations of the history of design and materials: with her »Rice Bowl for the Millions«, the porcelain artist Laura Straßer shows a remake of the traditional material, which was created in cooperation with the original production site in Jingdezhen (China). The PhD artist Edith Kollath offers insights into the interior of ancient rock with a nature sculpture from her »Findlinge« [»Boulders«] series.

The approximately 50 exhibits also showcase techniques of the future, including kinetics, 3D printing, and virtual reality (VR). Following a successful crowdfunding campaign, the 2009 student project »Tinkerbots« has long since become an internationally active company for robotic toys. It uses easy-to-programme modular modules to teach children the principles of robotics.

In addition to these alumni projects, »Manifest of Practice« focuses on the artwork and designs by current students and their final theses. These include the bachelor’s thesis »Standards« by product designer Robin Weißenborn whose plastic packaging examines the EU standardisation. The award-winning art project »Bewegtes Land« [»Moving Scenes«] that the former junior professors for experimental television Jörn Hintzer and Jakob Hüfner completed together with students along the Jena Paradise–Naumburg railway line also forms part of the exhibition: around 300 volunteers from the region took part in this surreal intervention and transformed the Saale valley into a 30-kilometre stage in the summer of 2017.

After the 14-day stint in Berlin, »Manifest of Practice« will go on tour with a series of workshops. The first stops planned are Taipei, Seoul, New York, La Paz, and Tehran.

Exhibition dates:17 January to 1 February 2019

Exhibition venue:Thuringian State ChancelleryRepresentative Office of the Free State of Thuringia in the Federal GovernmentMohrenstraße 6410117 Berlin